Since the pandemic began, there has been significant efforts by advocates to create better laws and regulations to protect nursing home residents. The pandemic and its devastating impact on nursing home residents has resulted in many states passing new laws or creating new regulations regarding a variety of areas, including staffing, transparency, and the nursing home workforce. On this episode, you will hear from two advocates that have been successful in getting new laws and regulations passed and promulgated. Tony Chicotel, Senior Staff Attorney at California Advocates for Nursing Home Refo ..read more

Often the conversation about addressing the chronic poor care that exists in far too many of today's nursing homes is framed around new laws or regulations. Yet, there are steps that can be taken now - using existing federal and state legal authority - to improve care and conditions in our country's nursing homes. In our conversation, we will discuss four levers of opportunity for increasing quality and accountability in nursing homes with the author of "Using What We Have: How Existing Legal Authorities Can Help Fix America's Nursing Home Crisis." Special Guest: Nina Kohn, J.D., the Solomon C ..read more

Family caregivers have always played an integral role in promoting and achieving quality care for their loved ones living in a long-term care facility. The importance of the informal care and support provided by family members for a resident's physical, mental, and emotional well-being became abundantly clear during the pandemic when those essential supports were taken away during the pandemic. Yet, advocacy and engagement by family members benefits not only their own loved ones, but ultimately all residents in a long-term care facility. In our conversation with Marcella Goheen, a family membe ..read more

M.T. Connolly is a writer, lawyer, researcher, policy-shaper, and leading national expert on elder justice. In her new book, The Measure of Our Age: Navigating Care, Safety, Money, and Meaning Later in Life, M.T. discusses the challenges of aging, how things go wrong, and presents powerful tools we can use to forge better long lives for ourselves, our families, and our communities. In this episode, join our discussion with MT Connolly as we talk about the challenges of aging well, ageism, and advocacy for a better long-term care system ..read more

For decades Consumer Voice has designated October as Residents’ Rights Month. This month is an opportunity to recognize the value of each resident and the importance of treating every resident with dignity and respect. This year’s theme, Amplify Our Voices, highlights residents coming together to make their voices heard. In this episode, join us as we speak with two resident advocates. Floyd Hartley is a former nursing home resident who now lives in the community and works as an advocate for all residents including those transitioning out of facilities. We also spoke with Cindy Napolitan, a cu ..read more

Residents' Rights Month is celebrated every October and this year’s theme, Amplify Our Voices, emphasizes a community of long-term care residents coming together to make their voices heard. As we lead into Residents’ Rights Month, Consumer Voice spoke with two State Ombudsmen, Kelly Richards (Illinois) and Mairead Painter (Connecticut), who shared their experiences of amplifying the voices of long-term care consumers in their advocacy work. In this episode, Kelly and Mairead discuss a variety of ways that long-term care consumers in their states have advocated to make positive change, includin ..read more

When a person enters a nursing home, one of the first things they usually do is sign their admissions contract. Typically, these contracts contain pre-dispute arbitration agreements. These agreements take away your right to hold your nursing home accountable in court for any potential negligence or wrongdoing. “Pre-dispute” arbitration agreements require you to give up this right before the harm even occurs so you will never have the chance to decide if going to court is the right option for you. Nursing home residents have the right to refuse pre-dispute arbitration. In this episode, Consumer ..read more

Few lawsuits make it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, one brought by the family of Gorgi Talevski did just that -- and they won! The Talevski case decision is important in that it addresses the rights of nursing home residents, their ability to sue a state run (publicly owned) nursing home, and addresses the importance of the Nursing Home Reform Act in establishing the standard of care. Join our discussion with Suzana Talevski, attorney and daughter of Mr. Talevski; Maame Gyamfi, Senior Attorney at AARP Foundation Litigation; and Toby Edelman, Senior Policy Attorney with the Cen ..read more

Although LGBTQ+ community members have the same rights as all other long-term care consumers, they often face hardship, such as discrimination and stigma, that their straight and cisgender counterparts do not. Even before entering long-term care, LGBTQ+ individuals are often concerned about whether the facility will accept them as who they are, and whether they will feel comfortable having partners and friends visit. LGBTQ+ older adults are less likely to have children to care for them and are more likely to live alone without a caretaker. Many LGBTQ+ older adults are not “out” because they fe ..read more

Consumer Voice has long been concerned with the use of antipsychotics and other drugs in long-term care, as they are too often used as chemical restraints in place of providing adequate care. In this episode, Consumer Voice Executive Director, Lori Smetanka, is joined by award-winning writer/director Susie Singer Carter and former federal prosecutor Rick Mountcastle to discuss their upcoming documentary, No Country for Old People. Susie and Rick are collaborating on the film to promote conversations about the improper treatment and poor conditions many individuals in long-term care endure and ..read more